Vail’s Annual Community Meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12 at Donovan Pavilion will be headlined by a celebration recognizing noted water attorney Glenn Porzak as the recipient of the annual Trailblazer Award as well as a look back on accomplishments from 2018, an update on new initiatives and a tribute to fire Lt. Scott Bridges who is recovering from injuries he sustained while helping at an accident scene on his way to work.

There’s still time to participate in the initial stages of an information-gathering process that will be used to help guide future improvements to town-owned facilities and properties in the heart of Vail. Community members have until 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25 to take part in the Civic Area Plan online survey. The survey is available at EngageVail.com, the town’s newest community outreach forum.

Partnerships and collaboration in the areas of housing, environmental sustainability, parking, economy and public safety were key contributors in helping to elevate the town’s priority initiatives during 2018. For example, in partnership with the Vail Local Housing Authority, the town continued to make an impact on its housing goals with the acquisition of 106 new deed restrictions totaling $6.5 million of public and private investments through the Vail InDEED program. This included the purchase of 23 deed-restrictions at the newly-constructed 6 West Apartments in Edwards, which represents the town’s first of its kind regional housing collaboration. Also noteworthy during the year was announcement of Vail’s official certification as the first sustainable mountain resort destination in the U.S. and the first community certified in the world under the Mountain Ideal Standard. The certifications are the result of a multi-year partnership between the Town of Vail, Walking Mountains Science Center, Sustainable Travel International, Vail Resorts, U.S. Forest Service and others, while marking the culmination of 56 years of leadership by the Vail community in progressive environmental conservation policies and programs. To address the need for additional public parking, a three-way partnership between the town, Eagle County Schools and Vail Resorts contributed to the opening of a new, four-level parking structure at Red Sandstone Elementary School in which the spaces will be utilized for both school and public use. A first-ever retreat between the Vail Town Council and executives from Vail Resorts identified areas where the two entities will be working together to enhance the guest experience and elevate Vail’s competitiveness. Events such as the Burton U.S. Snowboarding Championships, Colorado Classic, Bravo! Vail Music Festival as well as a Global Friendship exchange trip to Japan, served to showcase Vail to international audiences. Also of note was the involvement of Vail Fire in facilitating creation of the Mountain Area Mutual Aid Plan which assisted in the coordination of wildfire suppression efforts during the Lake Christine, Bocco, Buffalo, Two Elk and Golf Course fires throughout the region, and will serve to provide critical resources in the event of a wildfire in or near Vail. Other milestones included completion of the update to the Open Lands Plan, ongoing improvement in Gore Creek’s water quality, sponsorship of a wildlife forum which brought renewed focus on the health of the area’s wildlife, plus a kickoff to the Civic Area planning process that will help identify a future plan for the town’s public facilities in the heart of Vail.

Vail Holidays creates a festive and magical holiday season in an iconic setting, and offers a plethora of events from Dec. 5-31. Vail’s beautiful mountain village with twinkling lights and crisp mountain air is the backdrop for many festive events that will spark the holiday spirit for visitors and locals alike. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Vail Holidaysis a collection of classic seasonal events that the whole family can enjoy together.

The Town of Vail is introducing the first stages of a master planning process that will rely heavily on community engagement to determine how best to incorporate community needs and goals in preparing for future improvements to town-owned properties in the heart of Vail. To learn more about the Civic Area Master Plan process, the town is hosting a community open house from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11 in the Grand View on the third level of the Lionshead Welcome Center.

Public comment opportunities will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 4 as the Vail Town Council prepares to adopt the 2019 municipal budget. The $73.3 million expenditure plan is available on the town’s website at www.vailgov.com. Second reading of Ordinance No. 21 is listed as item 8.3 on Tuesday’s meeting agenda which begins at 6 p.m. in the Vail Town Council Chambers.

Most Town of Vail Municipal offices will be closed on Monday, Sept. 3 in observance of Labor Day. The Vail Public Library also will be closed. Regular office hours will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Transit services will operate uninterrupted during the holiday. Also, the police front counter in the Municipal Building will remain open on Monday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Call 911 for police, fire or medical emergencies.

As Vail prepares to welcome the Colorado Classic professional men and women’s cycling competitors for the Stage 1 circuit race on Thursday, Aug. 16 and the Stage 2 time trial on Friday Aug. 17, use these tips to enjoy the fun.

The Town of Vail has arranged for noted author and futurist Rutt Bridges to lead a presentation and discussion on autonomous vehicles and other emerging technologies during the Tuesday, Aug. 7 Vail Town Council meeting. Members of the community as well as representatives from agencies and organizations from throughout the region are welcome to attend. The presentation is listed as agenda item 5.1 and will take place from approximately 6:15 until 7:15 p.m. in the Vail Town Council Chambers, 75 S. Frontage Road. The session will include opportunities for questions and comments from the public.

The Town of Vail will host its remaining neighborhood picnic of the summer on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at Donovan Pavilion. The picnic will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with free food and drink provided by the town as well as a children’s activity area sponsored by the Vail Recreation District.

The logistics required to host stages 1 and 2 of the Colorado Classic which will welcome thousands of cycling fans to Vail on Thursday, Aug. 16 and Friday, Aug. 17 have been finalized by the town’s police, fire and transportation departments. This includes route information, neighborhood road closures, overflow parking areas and transit re-routes between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on both days. Maps detailing the impacts are available at coloradoclassicvail.com.

Environmental sustainability efforts and housing opportunities have been identified as high priorities for the Vail Town Council to consider in the coming months according to respondents who took part in the Town of Vail community survey which was circulated during the spring. The survey findings were presented to the Town Council on June 19 by the research firm RRC Associates which also included an overview of department and service ratings.

At long last, Vail has been officially certified as a sustainable mountain resort destination. As such, Vail is the first destination in the world to be certified to the Mountain IDEAL sustainable destination standard. Additionally, Vail’s adherence to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) destination criteria makes it the first Certified Sustainable Destination in the United States certified by a GSTC-Accredited certifying body, Green Destinations. The conditional Green Destinations certification is the result of a multi-year partnership between the Town of Vail, Walking Mountains Science Center, Sustainable Travel International, Vail Resorts, U.S. Forest Service and others. It marks the culmination of 56 years of leadership by the Vail community in progressive environmental conservation policies and programs.

From hiking in the summer to skiing in the winter, there’s always something to do in Vail.

Visitors and residents alike enjoy the 1,100 acres of open space accounting for 50 percent of Vail’s town-owned land; 350,000 surrounding acres of national forest, crowned by 5,289 skiable acres on one of the largest and best ski mountains in the world.